Sport & Fitness PR

Our award-winning Sport & Fitness team has an outstanding track record of delivering tangible results for all of our clients. We represent many household names, as well as supporting the success of non–mainstream brands to help them get the recognition that they deserve. Our work helps to sell out events, renew sponsorships, create audiences and grow businesses. We are proud to be involved in encouraging and motivating thousands of people to watch, enjoy and get involved in sport and fitness along the way. We are passionate about what we do, have lots of fun doing it, and this energy and enthusiasm shines through in every aspect of what we do.

We will help you become more influential by keeping you ahead of the political agenda, raising your profile with decision makers, changing stakeholder opinions and shaping public policy.

Sport & Fitness PR FAQs

How much experience do you have in Sport and Fitness PR?

The department has a great deal of experience across the sport, leisure, health and fitness sectors. We have been involved in campaigns for a diverse range of sports including football, golf, rugby, cricket, motor racing, Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), sailing and beach volleyball. We have also worked with some of the biggest health and fitness brands in the UK including gym chains, leading sports nutrition brands and mass participation events

What publications and influential contacts do you have within the sport and fitness industry?

Because of our client list we have a varied contacts book to match, and are in regular correspondence with a wide range of sports writers and editors across the national and regional media. We have one of, if not the best, health and fitness contacts book in the industry. As a result of our work, journalists regularly come to us for input in their pages.

What kind of exposure can I expect working alongside The PHA Group on a sports or fitness PR campaign?

A significant number of our clients come to us when they are looking to take their media presence to the next level. They may be all over the regional or trade press but struggling for space in the nationals and online. Alternatively, they may be looking for some creative ideas that will make people sit up and take notice of their brand. As a London based agency, we are incredibly results focused winning multiple industry awards. We don’t count hours or fill in time sheets. We work until the job is done, and a result both us and our clients, are happy with what has been achieved.

What are the latest trends in sports and fitness PR and how would you capitalise on them for me?

There is an ever-increasing focus on creating strong video content. The world of sport of course provides particularly great opportunities to create eye catching video, and we are increasingly incorporate this into our campaigns. ‘Would video work here? Can we create a video for this?’ are questions we are now constantly asking ourselves. Of course, it is no great secret that the best PR campaigns are fully integrated to include digital and social activity, and other elements of the marketing mix, and this is certainly the case for our sport and fitness clients.

What kind of processes do you follow when working on sport and fitness PR campaigns?

A good campaign requires good planning. At the outset of a new client relationship we take the time to get to know and understand the brand or the individual in question. We immerse ourselves in their world, getting up to speed on their area of speciality and uncovering the stories that will help us to do our job properly. Our sports department is made up of a team of people who love all different kinds of sports, but we don’t pretend to be experts in absolutely everything. For example, before we started working with the GB beach volleyball team, we spent time down with the team at their training facilities in Bath and spoke at length to the athletes and the coach to aid our understanding. Likewise, when we started working with British ocean-racing sailor Alex Thomson, one of the first things we did was go to Gosport to meet Alex and to get out on his boat with him. Having this kind of experience allows us to speak to the media knowledgeably, and with passion and enthusiasm.

How would you go about promoting the profile of an athlete or sports brand?

It is hard to give a general answer to this question. However, our first step would be to get to know the athlete or brand as well as possible. We try to uncover every aspect of their story so that we have multiple angles to take to different media outlets. For example, one of the UFC fighters we work with used to live in India where his parents ran a shoe making business making shoes for the likes of Mick Jagger and Elton John. Another once saved a dolphin that had become stranded on a beach, another had ambitions of being a nurse before becoming a professional fighter, another likes hot yoga as part of their training regime… and so it goes on. Finding out the stories behind the athletes is one of our key strengths and gives us lots of great material to take to different media outlets.

What kind of sponsorship deals could you potentially gain for an athlete?

As an agency representing both brands and individual athletes, we have a very good understanding of what people are looking for when it comes to finding an ambassador. An athlete’s public profile, their media presence and their social media influence are all very important criteria. It therefore follows that if an athlete has good PR representation in place then they will become more attractive to potential sponsors.

Do you offer media training for athletes and sports personalities?

Yes, we do. The media requirements and pressures put on athletes can be intense and often unique, so we put together bespoke media training for everyone.

How would you go about promoting a sports event?

For sports and mass participation events we offer a full media and PR campaign based on the objectives for that event, whether that be ticket sales, sign ups, general brand awareness, or penetration of a specific market. We provide support through the planning stages and the initial announcement, through to the event itself and the delivery of post event coverage and activity. There are lots of different ways we go about promoting the date, from identifying individuals taking part in a mass participation event with good stories to tell, working with any elite athletes involved, coming up with stunts that will create column inches or social noise, creating specific promo material that we can share with media and on social channels… and plenty more.

What does onsite media management involve and what do you offer?

We offer a full on-event media management service and tailor this depending on requirements, but our service includes managing media and celebrity attendance or participation, media accreditation, event photography or broadcast requirements and requests, setting up and managing a media centre or check-in facility, managing and dealing with all on-event requests from the media and liaising with operations teams, and issuing any event press releases, imagery or other material. Basically, we offer a full service to manage and run any media related element of a sports or mass participation event, having worked with the likes of Tough Mudder, Royal Parks Foundation Half Marathon and Rat Race Adventure Sports.

How soon will your campaign have an impact and start showing results?

Clients can expect to start seeing the results of our activity within days of starting to work with us, although of course it does take some time to see the full effects of a campaign. Monthly magazines work several weeks in advance, so even if we secure coverage with a long lead magazine on day one of the campaign, it’ll take a couple of months at least before the piece comes through. On the opposite end of the scale, online coverage can be up within minutes and social activity usually starts from the minute the campaign kicks off.

I only want to target X region; can you do anything location specific?

We operate regional campaigns for many of our clients and have good relationships with a wide range of regional press outlets. Through our work with PureGym, who have more than 100 gyms nationwide, we operated as the press. So, activating a campaign which is purely regional, or has a regional element, is certainly not a problem for us.

How much can I expect to pay?

This really depends on the brief, scope, aims and objectives of each campaign. But PR, when done well, is an incredibly effective way of communicating with your audience and can provide a very impressive return on investment. We are incredibly results focused – not just on delivering coverage, but on delivering coverage that is going to have a real impact. A significant number of our clients have been with us for several years.